Pool table

ABSTRACT

A pool table includes a table board with pockets and a table base disposed under the table board; wherein, the table base comprises two longer rails, two shorter rails, and multiple legs. Each longer rail has an interior barrier and an exterior barrier longitudinally and parallel spaced thereon. Two bottom slant plates are laterally disposed between the interior and exterior barriers. A guiding oblique slot, on the bottom slant plates, is enclosed by the interior barrier, the exterior barrier, and the bottom slant plates. The bottom slant plates provides bevels respectively extending aslant and downward from two edges of the longer rail and convening at the middle thereof to generate a gathering zone. Accordingly, the above arrangements create a ball collecting configuration different from the typical ones and facilitate to smoothly gather balls, streamline the product structure for a convenience of production, and enhance the product strength and lifetime.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an entertainment and sport equipment, in particular to a pool table.

2. Description of the Related Art

The cue sport refers to a kind of fashionable and decorous sport events, which provides an entertainment and involves in an extreme skill. Following the growth of economic, progress of society, and incessant development of sport events, the cue sport becomes popular among the public and is deemed as one of the international sport events. The pool table is basic equipment in the cue sport. Normally, the typical pool table essentially includes a table board and multiple legs supporting the board; wherein, the board has a hitting zone, around which six respective pockets are correspondently disposed. Under each pocket, a gathering device is disposed. While playing the cue sport, people organizes using a cue stick to aim at a white ball and shot it to push other colorful balls into the respective pockets for a competition or an amusement. Further, the balls inside the pockets are collected by the gathering device allowable for people to take the balls out and use for the next playing.

However, the typical pool table may satisfy the basic function required in the cue sport but still fails to attain a preferable effectiveness as some problems still exists on its structures and utilization, especially to the gathering device. The disadvantages of the typical pool table as described as follows:

-   1. The common gathering device in the market merely has one     gathering zone, i.e. the gathering box, disposed under a shorter     rail of the pool table. Basically, the balls inside the six pockets     are gathered in the box along a guiding oblique track defined at two     longer rail of the pool table. Difficulties attendant on such     typical design are to block the rolling of the balls and interrupt     the gathering path when the balls travel through a curved ramp for     entering into the box. -   2. The guiding oblique track of the gathering device is mainly     configured by a plastic or a net structure, which facilely becomes     aged and deformed and decreases the durability in a long-term use. -   3. The typical gathering device involves in complicate components,     complex assemblage, lower production efficiency, and high costs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of the present invention is to solve the conventional problems of the typical technique and to provide a pool table which takes advantage of a specific guiding oblique slot included in the gathering structure so as to efficiently attain a smooth guidance while collecting balls.

A further object is to provide a pool table which streamlines the configuration and facilitates a convenient assemblage in production.

Accordingly, the pool table in accordance with the present invention include a table board with pockets defined thereon and a table base disposed under the table board; wherein, the table base comprises two longer rails, two shorter rails, and a plurality of legs; each of the longer rails has an interior barrier and an exterior barrier longitudinally and parallel spaced thereon; two bottom slant plates are laterally disposed between the interior barrier and the exterior barrier; a guiding oblique slot, defined on the bottom slant plates, is enclosed by the interior barrier, the exterior barrier, and the bottom slant plates; the bottom slant plates provide slopes respectively extending aslant and downward from two edges of the longer rail toward a middle thereof and convene at the middle to generate a gathering zone.

Preferably, an arcuate guiding recess is defined on a surface of the bottom slant plates.

Preferably, a soft buffer layer covers a surface of the bottom slant plates.

Preferably, a gathering frame is disposed in the gathering zone; a goal susceptible of reversibility is defined at an exterior side of the gathering frame for a convenience of taking balls out.

Preferably, the gathering zone aims at a side pocket of the table board.

Preferably, the interior barrier, the exterior barrier, and the bottom slant plates are all made of wood.

Preferably, a top of the slope aims at a corner pocket of the table board.

Preferably, the guiding oblique slot adopts a straight railway.

By comparing with the typical technique, the present invention preferably attains better advantages and effects. More specifically, according to the above configuration, the present invention has a gathering structure respectively disposed inside the two longer rails, in which two independent gathering zones are preferably defined. Such design leads to the guiding oblique slot forming in a straight railway for omitting the design of the conventional curved ramp and allowing balls to straightly roll therein, so as to efficiently prevent the occurrence of blocking and attains a smooth rolling of the balls. Furthermore, due to the fact that the present gathering structure is constructed by the enclosure of the interior barrier, the exterior barrier, and the bottom slant plates, the gathering structure could be immediately finished when the longer rails are accomplished, which hence streamlining the manufacture of the product, increasing the production efficiency, and decreasing the costs. What is more, the guiding oblique slot of the present invention preferably made of wood could attain a better strength and durability than the typical ones made of plastic or net materials.

The advantages of the present invention over the known prior arts will become more apparent to those of ordinary skilled in the art by reading the following descriptions with relating drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view showing the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-section view showing the partial element of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is another cross-section view showing the partial element of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1 and 4 shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention, which includes a table board 10 and a table base 20; wherein, the table board 10 has a plurality of table rails 11 respectively disposed around the circumference thereof and a rectangular hitting zone 101 enclosed by the table board 10. Six pockets are respectively disposed around the periphery of the hitting zone 101, which includes four corner pockets 121 and two side pockets 122.

Continuing with the aforementioned, the table base 20 is supportably disposed under the table board 10. The table base 20 comprises two longer rails 21, two shorter rails 22, and a plurality of legs 23; wherein, the two longer rails 21 are juxtaposed and disposed parallel with each other, and the two shorter rails 22 are juxtaposed and disposed parallel with each other as well. The longer rails 21 and shorter rails 22 are engaged together to enclose a rectangular frame, and the four legs 23 respectively connect to four corners of the rectangular frame, so as to construct the table base.

Furthermore, referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, both of the longer rails 21 are formed by the same structure. Herein, each of the longer rails 21 has an interior barrier 211 and an exterior barrier 212 longitudinally and parallel spaced thereon; two bottom slant plates, i.e. a first bottom slant plate 2131 and a second bottom slant plate 2132 shown in FIG. 3, are laterally disposed between the interior barrier 211 and the exterior barrier 212. Preferably, the interior barrier 211, the exterior barrier 212, and the bottom slant plates 2131,2132 are herein made of wood material. In addition, a first guiding oblique slot 201, straight defined on the first bottom slant plates 2131, is enclosed by the interior barrier 211, the exterior barrier 212, and the first bottom slant plate 2131; a second guiding oblique slot 202, straight defined on the second bottom slant plates 2132, is enclosed by the interior barrier 211, the exterior barrier 212, and the second bottom slant plate 2132. The first bottom slant plate 2131 provide a slope extending aslant and downward from a first edge of the longer rail 21 toward a middle portion thereof, and the second bottom slant plate 2132 provide a slope extending aslant and downward from a second edge of the longer rail 21 toward a middle portion thereof. Both tops of the slopes upwardly communicate with the two corner pockets 121, respectively, and both bottoms of the slopes convene at the middle of the longer rail 21 to generate a gathering zone 24.

In this preferred embodiment, a gathering frame is disposed in the gathering zone 24, and the gathering frame is upwardly communicated with the side pocket 122 of the table board. Further, a goal 241 is preferably defined at an exterior side of the gathering frame, and the goal 241 is susceptible of reversibility for people to conveniently taking balls out.

Also referring to FIG. 4, an arcuate guiding recess 25 is preferably defined on a surface of the bottom slant plates 2131,2132 so as to smoothen and stabilize the rolling of the balls. Further, a soft buffer layer 26 covers the surface of the bottom slant plates 2131,2132 and preferably adopts a material fabricated of velvet and EVA so as not only maintain the smooth rolling but attain functions of shock absorption and noise reduction.

In operation, when the struck balls 30 enter the four corner pockets 121, the balls 30 would drop into the first guiding oblique slot 201 or the second guiding oblique slot 202 and would automatically move by self-rolling due to the gravity and gather in the gathering zone 24. As long as the balls 30 are pushed toward the two side pockets 122, the balls 30 would directly fall off into the gathering zone 24 for a collection. Consequently, the balls inside the six pockets would be automatically gather in the two gathering frames and the user could reverse and open the goal 241 to take all the balls out for a next operation.

The characterized design of the present invention is to adopt a specific gathering structure different from the typical designs, which preferably distinguishes from the typical ones and attains the effects as follows:

Initially, by means of respectively disposing the gathering structure in the two longer rails and forming two independent gathering zones therein, the present design leads to the guiding oblique slot forming in a straight railway for omitting the design of the curved ramp and allowing balls to straightly roll therein, so as to efficiently prevent from blocking the moving of balls and attains a smooth rolling in time of operation.

Furthermore, due to the fact that the present gathering structure is constructed by the enclosure of the interior barrier, the exterior barrier, and the bottom slant plates, the gathering structure could be immediately finished when the longer rails are accomplished, which hence streamlining the manufacture of the product, increasing the production efficiency, and decreasing the costs.

Besides, the guiding oblique slot of the present invention preferably made of wood could attain a better strength and durability than the typical ones made of plastic or net materials.

While we have shown and described the embodiment in accordance with the present invention, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. 

1. A pool table, characterized in that said pool table including a table board with pockets defined thereon and a table base disposed under said table board; wherein, said table base comprising two longer rails, two shorter rails, and a plurality of legs; each of said longer rails having an interior barrier and an exterior barrier longitudinally and parallel spaced thereon; two bottom slant plates being laterally disposed between said interior barrier and said exterior barrier; a guiding oblique slot, defined on said bottom slant plates, being enclosed by said interior barrier, said exterior barrier, and said bottom slant plates; said bottom slant plates providing slopes respectively extending aslant and downward from two edges of said longer rail toward a middle of said longer rail and convening at said middle to generate a gathering zone.
 2. The pool table as claimed in claim 1, wherein an arcuate guiding recess is defined on a surface of said bottom slant plates.
 3. The pool table as claimed in claim 1, wherein a soft buffer layer covers a surface of said bottom slant plates.
 4. The pool table as claimed in claim 1, wherein a gathering frame is disposed in said gathering zone; a goal susceptible of reversibility is defined at an exterior side of said gathering frame for a convenience of taking balls out.
 5. The pool table as claimed in claim 1, wherein said gathering zone aims at a side pocket of said table board.
 6. The pool table as claimed in claim 1, wherein said interior barrier, said exterior barrier, and said bottom slant plates are made of wood.
 7. The pool table as claimed in claim 1, wherein a top of said slope aims at a corner pocket of said table board.
 8. The pool table as claimed in claim 1, wherein said guiding oblique slot adopts a straight railway. 